With this bad boy!
You are looking at a machine from nanosolar, that can create 1 gigawatt (1000 MegaWatts) of solar cells a year, pretty nifty, especially when you consider that this is 3-4 times better than any previous machine.
The USA uses abotu 3.3 Terrawatts (1 TW = 1000 GW) a year. Meaning that you would need 3333 (give or take a few) of these machines running non-stop for one year to supply enough solar panels to supply all the energy needs of the United States.
I imagine it will only be a matter of time before they can develop a machine like this that runs twice as fast, or three times as fast, at that point solar cells become cheaper than coal, or gas, or oil, and we all move over to solar/wind/battery everything.
I pray so we can get access to that technology before it’s too late. But, probably it will reach the rich countries first, then, in some, let’s say, 5 or 7 years it will be selling in poor countries, like mine. But, wait a minute, in countries like mine, where corruption has escalated unbelievable levels, this technology won’t be accepted: dinosaurs, clinging to past and their businesses best interests will be the obstacle. Just as a reminding note: my country, Mexico, is going through a lot of turmoil, more than before. The right wing, religious conservative calderon (not with capitals, he doesn’t deserve it) is trying to privatize the oil company, which was expropriated in last century. Those dudes don’t care about the solar companies: whatever that threats their way of life will be excluded and the media will do the rest by trashing the ideas that don’t fit their economic agenda.
That is just my country, i don’t know about the rest of the world.
Sorry, I wanna be optimistic but… oh well…